The best part of the ceremony, though, was about to take place – the release of 50 monarch butterflies! The butterflies had been sleeping in a cooler overnight, and we warmed them up gradually in the shade before the release. We passed the individually boxed butterflies out to everyone for the mass release – once we counted to 3, everyone opened their boxes, and the butterflies flew upward pretty quickly before settling on flowers and taking some long drinks of nectar – they were really hungry!

Several photographers contributed their photos of the monarchs below on zinnia, aster, rose campion, blazing star, and lantana.

We’re now scouting for eggs on our milkweed, and eventually – caterpillars! Stay tuned for news and more photos.

Our first bamboo trellis also made it’s debut on Wednesday, and we’re collecting more donated bamboo for our next one. Here are some of Catherine’s trellis design sketches, and the first finished product – come on out and see the vines as they grow!